DATE: Friday, March 21, 1997                TAG: 9703210645

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B12  EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY DENISE WATSON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   68 lines

RAPPERS TELL STUDENTS THE SECRET TO SUCCESS: STAYING IN SCHOOL PROMOTIONS OUTFIT ADOPTED 2 MIDDLE SCHOOLS IN NORFOLK, THE ONLY ONES IN VA.

Rapper Edley Shine wrapped his arm around 14-year-old Tasha Fuller as he coaxed her to the mike to ask a question.

She was almost speechless.

``What is it like growing up in two different cultures?'' she squeaked, as she looked at Shine and his partner Mr. Notch, the hip hop-and-reggae Born Jamericans duo who visited Northside Middle School on Thursday.

The eighth-grader then slipped into her seat and smiled contentedly as she slowly, slowly melted, her knees jutting into the aisle of the auditorium.

``Oh,'' Tasha would say later when she could speak clearly, ``he smelled so good!''

But she didn't miss the duo's answer to her question - it was great being born and growing up in America after their families moved from Jamaica. And she didn't miss the focus of the their visit - making it big means staying in school.

``All of my hard work in school is translating to what I'm able to do now,'' 22-year-old Notch told the eighth-grade student body.

``Whatever you want to do later in life, starts right here in school.''

The Born Jamericans' visits to Northside Middle School and Azalea Gardens Middle are part of the Maryland-based FM Promotion company's ``Stay in School'' program.

The Norfolk middle schools are the only in Virginia, and two of 24 middle schools along the East Coast, adopted by the company. Once a month, the company takes national recording artists, celebrities and businesses to the schools to talk about staying in school and persevering when the going gets tough.

Artists like reggae star Shabba Ranks, R&B group Brownstone and balladeer Kenny Lattimore hit the schools to answer questions and join in pizza parties.

``The students relate to the artists, sometimes, better then they relate to the teachers,'' said FM Promotion founder, Willie Young, who started the program four years ago.

``I think most kids don't look at school, they don't look at the here and now. So we give them something they want to listen to, they feel, and then we let them know education is the most important thing.''

The program is limited to eighth-graders at Northside, and seventh-graders and eighth-graders at Azalea Gardens, to have more intimate gatherings of about 100 to 200 students. Northside principal Tim Sweeney read about the program last summer in a newsletter and called the company to sign up.

``We're pretty fortunate to be one of the few schools picked,'' Sweeney said. ``I thought it would be nice to give our eighth-graders this type of program and privilege as they are moving on to high school.''

Students at both Northside and Azalea Gardens took advantage of the privilege. Some Northside students grabbed autographs and took pictures with the Born Jamericans before they rushed to Azalea Gardens Middle. After the question and answer session at Azalea, the students asked the two to sing.

The Born Jamericans whipped the students into a frenzy of squeals and left girls fanning themselves with a few lines from their hit ``YARDCORE.''

Erica Davis, 13, was one of the frenzied.

``I really like them,'' Erica said. ``It's, like, not the kind of songs with cursing in it. It's straight-up talk about life. They talk about self-identity, growing up in the 'hood - I can relate to that.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Photo]

BILL TIERNAN/The Virginian-Pilot

Evonne Foreman, left, waits to get an autograph from Mr. Notch, half

of the hip hop-and-reggae duo, Born Jamericans, who visited

Northside Middle School on Thursday. The artists' visit is part of

the Maryland-based FM Promotion company's ``Stay in School''

program.

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